TOM McAULAY'S OUTBACK
Tom McAulay has been a professional artist ever since leaving school and very few people can boast that!
He won his first art award at the age of fourteen, but despite more awards and accolades since then, has never sought fame and fortune, finding greater reward in the completion of a painting which finds an appreciative audience. He originally hails from Innisfail and has been heavily influenced by the Queensland landscape, but various travels through the Northern Territory and the north of West Australia over the years have also inspired many works. His passion, as a subject for his art, is life on the land and he has spent many hours observing droving, mustering and branding and manages to capture the very essence of these subjects in the dust and heat of the day.
Many people will be familiar with his wonderful charcoal studies of stockmen. Be they at work, stockwhip in hand or sitting astride a fence for smoko, there is an incredible feeling in each drawing which immediately conjures up the entire scene. Tom works in different mediums to suit each subject, for example in acrylics to replicate the hazy, mirage-like landscape of western Queensland or in pen and wash for a couple of old stockmen leaning on a bar at the end of a long day. These are the reasons why McAulay has always had a strong following and has made a substantial name for himself, especially with the very people he is portraying
He is now thrilled at having the opportunity to exhibit at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame in May, as he feels this is such a perfect place for his artwork to be exhibited. He says “The Stockman’s Hall of Fame is such a wonderful place and a great credit to all who worked so hard to get it established and who have maintained the spirit of the Outback through it. While practices change in the way land and stock are managed, this is a vital part of Australian history – a living place showcasing how life was and in many cases still is, in the bush. This is what I also hope to portray in my work. The hard work required, but the natural beauty to be found in the landscape and the ‘rough diamond’ characters who could always be depended upon.” The exhibition, “Tom McAulay’s Outback”, will have a great selection of paintings, drawings and even prints and will certainly be an event not to be missed.
Branding the Greenhide
Sugarbag Station Ringer
Stockcamp